The Help that Comes from Above

So the letter of the Apostle Paul, the epistle of the Apostle Paul to Philemon. Okay, and we are going verse, we'll read the whole epistle, and then we'll pray, and then we'll start Lord willing. Let's read the epistle. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother. To Philemon, our beloved friend and fellow laborer.

to the beloved Afia, Archbus, our fellow soldier, to the church in your house. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints. that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you. Being such a one as Paul the Aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I am sending him back. You, therefore, receive him that is my own heart, whom I wish to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent, I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me. But how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord? If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes you anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hands.

I will repay. Sorry, brother, I just lost you. I will repay, not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord, refresh my heart in the Lord. Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you do even more than I say.

But meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers, I shall be granted to you." Epaphras. my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus greets you. As do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow labors. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Amen. Let's address the Lord. Father, we come before you, Lord, because you are the only one who can speak to our hearts. The words of men, Lord, can accomplish nothing. But your words, they are powerful, Lord, because it's breathed out by you.

So please, as we address this epistle again, Lord, I just pray that you may speak to my heart, that you may speak to the heart of my brothers and sisters, of friends that are listening to it now, Lord. Help us. We need your grace. We need indeed your help, Lord. You are the one who can build the house, because if you're not building it, it's in vain our labor.

So Lord, it may all be done for your glory. Speak to us, Lord, we need you. We need you to grow in the likeness of Christ. We need you to love one another, Lord. We need you to live the life that you called us to live.

We need you, Lord, to grow in holiness. We need you, Lord, to be more like our Lord and Savior. So please be with us, have mercy upon us, forgive us for our sins, Lord. There are many. Forgive me, forgive my brothers and sisters.

Have mercy upon us, Lord, and speak to our hearts. We need to hear from you, we need to learn from you, Lord. So teach us, in Jesus' name, amen. So brethren, if I was to ask you a question, I think I was something similar on the first sermon that we did in the episode of the Apostle Paul to Philemon. And if I was to ask you, brother, who is married, and if I ask you this, have you loved your wife as God has called you to do so?

Can you say that you have loved your wife as Christ loved the church? Can you say that every day that you wake up, that feeling or that desire to do the best for your wife is there? So sister, can you say the same regarding your husband? Your willingness to submit to him as to the Lord, is that always there? When you see that he doesn't love you as he should, and you are called to glorify the Lord in the role that the Lord has given you, is this an easy task?

Is this something that flows from you easily, that you can do in a blink of an eye, something that's easy from you? So children, when you think of obeying your parents, is that something you can do easily? Is that something you can do with your heart flowing with gratitude for what they do for you? Is that something that comes in a blink of an eye? So brothers, sisters, in the context of the church, when we are called to love one another and to bear with one another and to forgive one another, is that an easy task?

Is that something that we can do at every time, in every part of our life, in each and every circumstance? that we can forgive readily, that we are ready to forgive, that we are ready to show love, that we are ready to show kindness. Is that something that we can do? Is that something that comes out easily from us? We know, brother, that the task that was set before Philemon by the Apostle Paul, as we mentioned, was a hard task.

And everything that we need to do in our lives is hard. The context of the local church, It's not always smiles and things, we go through hustles, we go through moments of trials as a church, we go through moments in which we need to forgive one another, and brothers, sisters, that's not easy. But that's the call of the Lord for us. We mentioned in the first sermon that the goal of the Christian is to glorify God as we become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. and that this is only possible, the only way that we can do that is through the gospel of our Lord.

There's no other way. To live the lives that we are called to do, and for Philemon to be able to forgive Onesimus, and not just to forgive, but to receive him, not as a slave anymore, but as a beloved brother, he needed the help of the church, and that's what we saw last week when Paul addresses verses one and two. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother, to Philemon, our beloved friend, to the beloved Athia, and Arctos, our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house. We saw that for us, in order for us to accomplish those things that the Lord tells us to do, we need one another. And last week, we saw how we can help one another by the example set by the Apostle Paul.

We saw that the Apostle Paul prayed for Philemon. We saw that the Apostle Paul encouraged this brother, for we have great joy and consolation in your love because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. We saw that Paul was reasoning, communicating with this brother, and we mentioned it would have been easy for Paul to say, forgive Philemon as Christ has forgiven you, and that would be enough. But yet Paul reasons with this brother in Christ. and tells him and bringing the idea you should receive him.

He's a changed man, the Lord has changed him. Yes, he was unprofitable to you, but now he's profitable to you and to me as well. The Lord has done a work in his heart. You are to receive him, not as a slave anymore, but you are to receive him as a beloved brother. Philemon, if he owes you anything, no worries, I will pay.

If there is any debt, I will deal with that. He was taking any hindrance away, and he was being Christ-like to this brother. Remember, Paul was in prison at that time when he wrote this letter, probably in Rome, and in imprisonment, but yet he was seeking the freedom of another person. And we saw that in light of what Christ did in John chapter 13, that knowing that his time had come, he loved his own till the end. And we saw that the Lord Jesus Christ, instead of being comforted, he was the one bringing comfort.

He was the one encouraging his disciples. And we are called to do the same in the context of the local church. To be an example to one another, to be Christ-like to one another, to encourage one another, to pray for one another. Because brothers and sisters, the Lord calls us to holiness. I ask you, brother, can you love your wife as Christ loved the church?

Sister, can you submit to your husband as to the Lord? Children, can you obey your parents with a gratitude, with a heart that is full of gratitude for what they do for you? Can you do those things? But brother, deal with this now. Sister, deal with this.

The Lord calls us to be holy as he is holy. I don't know you, but this is a hard task. I deal with my sins each and every day. I deal with the things that I need to do in each and every day, and I fail day in and day out. This task that is before us, in a sense, is impossible.

We cannot accomplish that on our own strength. Remember that Paul was writing, as I said, to bring reconciliation. Philemon, forgive this brother that it was impossible for Philemon to accomplish that without the help of our brothers and sisters. We know what the Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew chapter 19 verse 24, that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God. And I think it's safe for us to apply that to our lives as well.

It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than us accomplish all those things that the Lord has told us to do by our own strength. Brother, sister, it is impossible. We're left in wheat sand. There is nothing you can do in and of yourself that would help you to move onwards to what the Lord has called you to do or has called you to be. Remember, we are called to be like Christ.

And before the Lord saved us, we were the opposite of Christ. Now the Lord turns our face to the Lord Jesus. We are saved and we are in this path of becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's a hard path. It's not easy.

The task set by the apostle was not easy to find him. And everything that is before you in your life, it's not easy to accomplish. If you think you are, in the moment that you think you stand, take heed so that you may not fall. So what I wanna address today is the help that comes from above. Brother, sister, we can have the helps of our brothers and sisters.

We can have everything put in place, five steps to do this, five steps to do that, that will not help you. Unless the Lord raises the house or builds the house, our labor is in vain. There's nothing we can accomplish in and of ourselves. And I wanna address verse three of this epistle. Let's go to verse three of the epistle of the Apostle Paul.

He says, grace to you. and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So we see that before Paul addresses Philemon, he calls the attention of Philemon and the church in his house, but before he addresses him with the content of this letter, he calls a blessing. Grace and peace. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

And there are three things in this blessing. The blessing itself, which is grace and peace, We have the source of this blessing, God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have the recipients of this blessing, you, the church, Philemon, the church in his house, and brothers and sisters, us. So when we think about addressing the issues in our life or the things that we need to do as Christians, we need to address that in the light of the grace of God. As I said, men cannot do anything to help you. The Lord uses his means to bring about his decrees and to help you to grow in holiness.

But ultimately, that's the help that comes from above. That's the help of God in your life. We saw that Paul blesses before he even started. As I said, no human effort would be able to make you accomplish what you need to accomplish as a Christian. You see that in Psalm 127, 1, as I mentioned, the Lord is the one who builds the house.

And remember that both to me and to do of his good pleasure comes from him. The Apostle Paul, when writing to the Philippians, he'll tell them, exercise your own salvation with fear and trembling. knowing this, that it's of God, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. The willingness and the power to accomplish what is a pleasure to the Lord or what the Lord wants you to accomplish or to do comes from Him. The willingness and the power to do so.

So we are in complete need of the Lord, in desperate need of the Lord. As I said, we have the blessing. which is grace and peace. We have the one who is the source of it, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have also the recipients, you and brothers and sisters, us, the recipients of this grace of God.

The first thing that I want us to see is that grace is given to God's children. This blessing that Paul addresses or that Paul brings up in the beginning of this letter is to God's children. He says, grace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He brings this idea that the source of this grace and peace is God. But not just God, he says, God, our Father, is the one who has brought us into his family.

He is the source of this grace. It's not just a God who is far away, it's a God who is near. It's a God whom you were in enmity with, but now you're friends with. It's a God who has not just forgiven you, but has brought you into his family. It's a God now that before you would call him Lord, and yes, you still call him Lord because he's still Lord, Lord Jesus Christ, but yet he is the Father as well.

We see that, that Paul is addressing those who now belong to the family of God, and it's right for him to desire that to them. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You know that grace was what saved you, brother and sister. You know that it was the grace of God given to you before the foundation of the world in the Lord Jesus Christ that has brought you to Christ. You know that it's grace that has opened your eyes through the power of the Holy Spirit that opened your eyes to see your need for Christ, your desperate need for the Savior.

It was the grace of God who made you realize that without Christ, you're in big trouble. It's because of the grace of God. By grace, you have been saved through faith. And that's not of yourself. It's not of work so that no man can come before God and boast.

This grace is understood first in the being of God, when we understand who God is. When we experience grace, we experience grace as a favor that we do not deserve. God gives us what we do not deserve. But there's a grace in which is in the being of God. Remember, grace is an attribute of God.

So God is gracious, if we could say that. And I think we can try to understand a little bit of it if we go to Proverbs chapter 22, verse 11. When we try to understand His grace, which is the graciousness of God. Proverbs chapter 22, verse 11. He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips.

The king will be his friend. So we have this idea that grace is that which is linked to the purity of heart, and it comes out in words. We have this idea, the pure of heart has grace in his lips, or is graceful, and the words of the one who is graceful is pleasant to the ears. We see that in the being of God. God is gracious within himself.

We see that the Son gives pleasure to the Father. We see that the Father is gracious to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. We see that in the Holy Trinity. We see that in the communion of God Himself, that God is gracious to Himself. That's why we can say that the Father will say of the Lord Jesus Christ, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

There is graciousness in the being of God. The being of God is pleasant. The words of God are pleasant. That's what we see in Luke chapter four. If we go to Luke chapter four, verse eight.

Luke chapter four, verse eight. I think I may have got the wrong one. Yeah, sorry. So there's an instance in which the Lord Jesus Christ, there's grace coming from the lips of the Lord. I cannot recall the verse now or the chapter.

I'm sorry about that. But there is an idea that the being of God is gracious. God himself is gracious within himself. So that's the first idea of grace. But as I said, we experience grace in a different way.

The grace that we experience is a favor that we do not deserve. Yeah, there's pleasure in what the Lord tells us, and in the gospel of Christ, that's why there are glad tidings of good news. That's why it's good to hear, it's pleasant for the ears to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we experience the grace of God as a favor that we do not deserve. And we see that in Romans chapter six.

So the apostle will bring this idea of a favor that we do not deserve. So Roman chapter six, verse 23. Look what the apostle Paul will tell us. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. He'll make a comparison.

He says what sin deserves is death. That's the wages of sin. That's the works, that's what's being paid for the work that sin brings about. So wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ. So I have this distinction or this comparison between sin and wages and death, and in between life and grace and eternal life in Christ Jesus.

As I said, if people would tell us in Ephesians that we are saved by grace through faith. This is the gift of God for us. We deserve death. We deserve punishment. That's what we deserve because we are sinners.

That's what is due to us. The wages of sin is death. So children, there is nothing else that you deserve but the wrath of God upon you. and all of us in here, and that's why we need the Savior. The free gift of God is the grace of God, as God gives us eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We experience that as a favor that we do not deserve. He has given us, and this Christmas we'll treat that as a gift. He has given us eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ. We see that we experience that the grace is in God himself as he is pleasant in himself, that he's gracious in himself. We experience that, as I said, Romans 6, 23, we said Ephesians as well, chapter two, we experience that as a favor that we do not deserve in any way.

This grace that saves us. This grace that is a favor that we do not deserve. That it's a gift of God given to us in Christ Jesus. As I said, it comes from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It's given to His children now.

So this grace that is given to us in Christ Jesus is not the grace that saves us. It's the grace that teaches us. And it is important for us to understand that because of how the Apostle Paul starts this letter. As I said, he says, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Before he addresses the issue, before he reasons with Philemon, before he shows him up his prayer, before he encourages his brother, he says, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The very content of the letter was the grace of God shown to Philemon. As I said, the grace that saves us is also the grace that teaches us. So this grace we have is attached to the salvation, which is truth, but from that flow everything else. As I said, the grace that saves is the grace that teaches. When we have an admonition from the Lord through a brother or sister, according to the Word of God, it's the grace of God shown to us.

When we have an encouragement according to the word of God, in the promises of God, it's the grace of God shown to us. It's God being gracious. Because you do not deserve to be encouraged with the promises of God. I do not deserve to be encouraged with the promises of God. As I said, the task is hard.

I cannot accomplish what the Lord has called me to do. I need it. So we see that in Titus chapter two, just one epistle before Philemon. So if you go to Titus chapter two, as I said, this grace that is given to us in Christ Jesus, yes, is attached to salvation, and that's the grace of God flowing from Christ, because the grace of God is Christ himself, as the peace of God is Christ, Christ our peace. But we see that in Titus chapter two, that he'll bring this idea that this grace that brings salvation, that saved us, is the grace that teaches us.

Before he does that, in verse 11, he'll tell Titus to exhort bond servants and to help young men and to tell them the things that they should do or how they should live within the context of the church. So look what he says in chapter two, verse one. But as for you, we speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. That the older man be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love and patience. These are the things that the old man should do.

This is the task set before them. The older woman likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderous, not giving too much wine, teacher of good things, that they admonish the young woman to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemy. That's the duty set before them. Likewise, exhort the young man to be sober-minded in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works. In doctrine, show integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

This is the task set before them. Exhort bond servants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, not answering back. not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. That's the task set before them. Four, the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, verse 12, teaching us.

So that grace that saves is the grace that teaches. And we are to rely solely on the grace of God. So everything that you hear in the word of God is God showing his grace towards you. When you heard the gospel of Christ was the grace of God shown towards you. When he opened your eyes to see the beauty of the glory of Christ.

As I said, when you came to Christ was the grace of God shown towards you. Now, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you who are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, everything that is shown to us by God is the grace of God shown to you, or teaching you to walk in holiness. When we see law of your wives as Christ's law of the church, it's the admonition of the Lord, but yet it's the grace of the Lord shown to you and to me, teaching us how we ought to walk. This is the grace that saves, and this is the grace that teaches. And we are to rely on it.

Fully, we need to rely on God. As I said, the one who thinks he stand, take heed so that he may not fall. And remember, brother and sister, you need to rely on the grace of God, not on your own strength. Remember that James will tell us that God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. So humility is needed.

in order to accomplish the task that is set before us. You need to understand, I need to understand, and may the Lord help us to realize that I cannot do it, but Lord, you can. What is impossible to men is possible to God. Remember that we said that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for us to accomplish the task that is set before us on our own power and strength? But that does the same thing that the Lord Jesus Christ said to the disciples, but yet what is impossible to men is possible to God.

So God is the one in you which rely on the grace of God. Brothers and sisters, the grace of God is constant in your life. Let's come to Romans chapter five. And I love the way that Paul puts it. When he says in verse one, therefore having been justified by faith, Now you're just fine, and now we have peace with God.

That empty has gone. Now we are in that place in which we have peace with God. We have unity with God in Christ Jesus, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through whom also we have access by faith, look what he says, into this grace in which we stand. So the grace of God now is the pathway in which we stand.

The Lord has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and has placed us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. And the pathway of that kingdom is a pathway of grace. That's why we can be assured that all things work together for our good, because the grace of God is upon us at all times. That this is the father, this is the ground in which we stand, the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we can say with the psalmist, surely I have assurance that goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

Because now we have been translated into the kingdom of Christ, which is the kingdom of the grace of God. That's the ground in which we stand. So as I said, brother, humility is needed. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. And as we see the gospel of Christ that should humble us, as we deal with the sovereignty of God that should humble us, as we deal with the things that we need to do that should humble us, I have a brother in Christ who, when he was going through issues with his wife, he was telling me, brother, There are times that I get home when I hear someone telling me, you should love your wife.

Tell her that you love her. And I get home, and I'm just behind the door. The door's closed. I'm about to get home, and I say, yes, I'll do that. I feel that strength and that power.

As soon as I open the door, it goes away. It changes like that. When we rely on ourselves, when we have this idea that I can accomplish it, that's when we go downhill. I have experienced that in my own life, and I experience that each and every day. A brother told me how I should act with my wife and how I should do things.

And brother, the first day, the second day, the third day, I was, yes, I can do it. And it was flowing and everything. Fourth day, downhill. The power had gone. When I think I can do something, take heed that that's when I cannot do it at all.

I need to rely on the grace of God. The best place to be is the place in which you know that you're weak. Remember that the apostle Paul was praying to God to take the thorn of the flesh. He prayed three times and that did not happen. And the Lord said, my grace is sufficient for you because my power is made perfect in your weakness.

So brother, sister, we are to realize that we are weak, that we need the Lord, that the task that is set before us is impossible for us to accomplish so that we rely on him and we can rely on him to find help. in time of need. Let's go to Hebrews, Hebrews chapter four. Chapter four, verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. He knows that we are dust. He knows our frame, but was in all points tempted as we are. He became man, he took upon himself flesh, was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Look what it says.

Because of this great high priest that we have, Let's hold fast our confession because of Christ, and let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The grace is that which saves us, the grace is that which teaches us, and the grace of God is that which helps us in time of need. And as I said, brother, may the Lord help us to be in that place in which we see that, Lord, there is nothing I can do. And the best place to see brothers, sisters, just think about all the things that we need to do as a husband, as a dad, as a parent, or as a wife, as a child. Just think of all those things that are set before you through the word of God.

And as you deal with that, may the Lord help us to realize that, Lord, I'm undone. There's nothing I can do, I'm a sinner. There's no power, there's no strength in me. I need your grace. But as you realize that, brother and sister, as you realize that, Just know that you are under the grace of God.

That the pathway in which you stand now is the grace of the Lord. That goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. That there's power, the promises of God are yours in Christ Jesus. They are yes and amen in Christ Jesus for those who are in him. The grace of God.

The ground in which we stand. And we can have confidence, as I said, that goodness and mercy will follow us. So let's go to the second point, which is peace. The peace of God. It says, grace you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace is given because of grace. I think the Apostle Paul started with the idea of grace and then bringing the idea of peace. That was the whole goal of the letter. Peace. The outcome was reconciliation, was unity.

And when we think of peace, we need to think of peace as being something that unites. Something that's not just ceases war or fire, but something that brings into agreement, into unity. And we can see that in Ephesians chapter four. This idea of peace is that which brings unity. And then hopefully we can see that in the being of God himself.

Look what he says in verse one of chapter four. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. With all loneliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, look verse three, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, the Father of all, as our brother was praying, who is above all and through all and in you all. So we see that peace is much more than something that ceases war or fire.

It brings into unity. True peace is that which brings into agreement, into unity. And we see that in the being of God himself, the Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter 10, verse 30. He'll say, I and the Father, we are one. We have the same mind.

We want the same thing. We seek to accomplish those same things the Father has decreed. I came to save those whom the Father has given me to save. And the Spirit is the one who brings salvation to those whom the Father has given me to save, to those whom I died for. He's the one who does that.

There's perfect unity in the being of God. And therefore there's perfect peace in God himself. You see that peace is connected to unity. It's more than something passive. is something that is active and that brings unity.

And we see that that's the desire of God within the body of Christ. We see the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go to John chapter 17. What Paul was trying to do here was the desire of Christ himself for his church. John chapter 17, let's start with verse, Verse 11, look what he says when the Lord is praying.

Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you, Holy Father. Keep through your name those whom you have given me, that they may be one as we are one. Look what he says in verse 21, that they all may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. Look what he says, and the glory which you gave me, I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one, I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. So as I said, peace.

It's that which brings unity, and that was the goal of the Apostle Paul. To unite this brother Philemon with a runaway slave who now became a brother in Christ, a beloved brother in Christ, whom Paul said that he has begotten while in his chains, and whom Paul wished to keep with himself, but yet he sent this brother back to accomplish reconciliation so that peace may take place. And he knew that for peace to take place, grace was needed. And he knew that peace was that which would unite them. Peace has the same aspect of grace.

As I said, grace is what teaches us as well. Grace is what helps us. And the word that the apostles use in Colossians chapter three. Let's go to Colossians chapter three. And we see that this peace, as I mentioned before, is an active peace.

It's not a passive one. It does something. Colossians chapter three. Verse 15, let's read from verse 12. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

But above all these things, put on love, which is the bone of perfection. Then he says in verse 15, and let the peace of God, and here's the word, rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be thankful. So the peace of God, and the peace that comes from above, is the peace that should rule our hearts, or should teach us, or should guide us, and should be the arbiter, or should help us to see what we should do. That's the peace that should rule our hearts, the peace that brings unity. As I said, it's grace that Paul is wishing to his brothers and sisters in Christ.

And it's the peace of God, the accomplishment of grace, which is the unity of the body of Christ. Brothers and sisters, we are in much need each and every day of the grace and the peace of God. In our lives, in the context of the church, as we live with one another, we need to rely on God. Because grace comes from above. And peace is that which comes from above.

Because God is a gracious God. And God is a God of peace. The Lord Jesus Christ is our peace, as the Scriptures will tell us. So we rely solely on Him to accomplish the task that is set before us. And how do we do that?

How can we rely on grace, and as I said, we need to see ourselves in that place of need, in that place in which we see that we cannot do anything. The best place for Philemon at that time is to see, Lord, I cannot do what you call me to do, and rely on the grace of God to accomplish the task that is set before him. So brothers and sisters, I think Peter, the Apostle Peter, bring this all into agreement in 2 Peter chapter one, as we see how we should pursue grace and peace. So 2 Peter chapter one. He starts in verse one.

Simon Peter, a born servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. He says, grace and peace, he says, be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. So that's possible in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. But what I mentioned in the first sermon, we are to be bathed in the gospel of Christ. It's by looking to the cross of Christ and to what Christ has accomplished that we can have a clear idea of the righteousness of God, of the righteous requirements of God.

Because the one who did no sin became sin and pleased the Father to crush his son. The righteousness of God revealed mightily and powerfully in the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That God would do that to his only begotten son, that Christ would be willing to give his life as a ransom for many. The righteousness of God and Christ shone in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. How God deals with sin.

how God hates sin, shown in the gospel of Christ Jesus. We see that. That's why we need to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, of God and of Christ Jesus. That's the only way we can actually be in that place of desperate need. The gospel should be applied to our lives each and every day.

As we see that, we cannot accomplish the task. As we see how God deals with sin, As I see that I'm a sinner in desperate need of a savior, of the savior. And as I see that and as I see the gospel of Christ, then the knowledge increases. And Paul will tell us that's your faith virtue. That's your virtue, knowledge.

And there's a process in which the Christian walk in this pathway in which he's seeking glory, in which faith is given to him. And he's to exercise those things that God has given him and to grow in the knowledge. And that's only possible in the gospel of Christ Jesus. Brothers, we have everything in Christ. Everything that we need.

As I said, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, they are the source of grace and peace. Look what Paul says in verse three, as his divine power has given to us. It's yours, brother, it's your sister. All things that pertain to life and godliness. through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.

He goes on and says and mentions the promises of God by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises. The one that I mentioned before at last sermon, the one who started the good work. He will bring it to completion. The promise of the Word of God that He is at work, that salvation belongs to the Lord and salvation is once, happen when we believe in Christ through the grace of God. That's when salvation happens, we are justified.

But that salvation is a process in which we are walking as well as we're becoming more like Christ. And there's an element that will be saved when Christ comes. As we look to the promises of God, and as we can rest in the one who is able to complete what he started in us. As we look to the promises of God, and as we know that his divine power has given us all things, that pertain to godliness. The prayer of the Apostle Paul to Philemon, as we saw last week, was that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in us, which is in you, in Christ Jesus.

It was given to us. So brother and sister, may the Lord help us to grow as Peter will tell us at the end of this letter. So let us grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To help one another and to be the help that we need to be to one another, we need to rely on God. We need to be relying on the grace of God because I cannot be a blessing to you if I don't rely on God.

You cannot accomplish your task. I cannot accomplish my task. if I don't rely on God. I need God. We need Him, first and foremost, before anything and anyone.

And how do we grow in this grace? As I said, it's through the knowledge of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how this knowledge comes, how this knowledge comes of God through the Word of God. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John will tell us that you search these scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. These scriptures are what bear witness of me. How much we need these brothers, sister.

How much we need the word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the word of God. And that's how the Lord speaks with us. That's how the Lord, in times past, he spoke with us through the prophets, through his people, through the prophets and visions and all those things, but now he speaks to us through his son. And his son, is shown to us in the Word of God.

It's this that bears witness of Christ. So may the Lord help us to rely on Him and to rely on Him as we rely on His Word because relying on His Word is to rely on the one who sent this Word. It's God-bred, it's given by Him. That was the grace shown to Philemon. That is the grace shown to us.

The Lord has given us not just one epistle, He has given us this whole book. He has given us everything that we need. It's sufficient. It's sufficient. This is what will help you, brothers and sisters, to move on.

As you are in despair, the Word of God will tell you that you have a Savior and advocate when you sin, that you can come before God and ask for forgiveness. When you need help, the scripture will tell us, the word of God will tell us that we can come with boldness because of the high priest we have, that we can find mercy and grace to help in time of need. We have everything in here. May the Lord help us to cherish his word in our hearts. And kids, remember that one of the questions is how can God reveal himself?

How else does God reveal himself? I was speaking with the kids and we spoke about it with the church as well, that God reveals himself in a general way, through man's conscience and creation, but he reveals himself in a special way, which is through the scriptures. Things that we cannot see with our eyes are given to us here. Things that we could not know on our own are given to us by God, so that we find grace and help in time of need. Brother and sister, more than needing one another, we need him.

And may the Lord help us and help me, help you, brother, help you, sister, to rely on Him in each and every step on your life. In the secret place, as you go about your daily life, as you deal with your parents, kids, as you deal with your wife, as you deal with your husband, may the Lord help us to rely on Him. Parents, as you deal with your kids, the wisdom comes from above. You need the grace of God, and you need the peace of God to rule in your heart, because the grace that saved us is the grace that teaches us. The peace that is to be accomplished is what should rule our hearts.

Praise be to God as we're sitting now, as we're standing now in this pathway of grace in which we stand by faith. If there is anyone here who does not know Christ yet, He said, the grace of God is shown in the gospel at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. You who are still under the wrath of God, if you die in your sins, there's no better place for you to be than where we are now. If you die on your sins, you have to deal with the one who hates it. And he hates it in such a way that he crushed his only begotten son, who knew no sin, because he was paying for the sins of his people.

He was paying the price that we deserve. And in eternity in hell, we will not pay not even a cent of what you own, God. But the grace of God is shown in the gospel of Christ Jesus. And the call is repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But I wanted to tell you, you need the grace of God to do so.

So kids, this is not something you can accomplish on your own. Repent and believe in Christ. You need the Lord Jesus Christ to do so. You need the grace of God to open your eyes, to see that you need Christ. May the Lord do that in the hearts of those here who do not know Christ yet.

Rely on Him who can open the eyes of the one who is blind. Rely on Him who can raise the one who is dead. Rely on Him so that you may see the beauty of the Savior. And as you come into this grace of God, which is given in Christ Jesus, and you stand in this pathway of grace, then you can be sure that, as I said, mercy and goodness will follow you all the days of your life. That's only possible in the Lord Jesus Christ.

As I said, the Apostle Paul will do that in many, all of his letters, he'll start with grace and peace to you. He'll finish his letters, he'll finish this letter to Philemon saying, grace be with you. We need grace from beginning to end. That's the whole of the Christian life. The pathway of grace, the kingdom of the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

So brothers and sisters, may the Lord help us to rely on his grace. so the peace of God may come, as we know that we are united to Him, and that we are one body with one another, that the peace of God may rule our hearts in all things that we do. Amen.